Art of knitting stockings



(No Model.)

W. ESTY. ART OF KNITTING STOCKINGS.

Patented May 3, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()rricn,

WILLIAM new, on LAOONIA, new HAMPSHIRE.

ART OF KNITTING STOCKINGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 362,434, dated May 3, 1887.

Application filed October 4, 1884. Renewed October 22,

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, VILLIAM EsTY, of Laconia, in the county of Belknap and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Improvement in.the Art of Manufacturing Stockings,of which the following,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of manufacturing full-fashioned stockings by machinery; and it consists in the process of forming such stock-ingsupon circular-knittingmachines by first taking up the required number of stitches to form the ankle upon a circular machine having as many needles as are required to knit the top of the leg, knitting a series ofback-and-forth courses and widening at each end of the course as often as' desired till all of the needles are thrown into action, then knitting a sufficient number of circular courses to complete the top of the leg, then removing the leg from the machine and taking up the stitches upon the narrow end of the flat portion of the leg upon a circular machine having the number of needles corresponding to the number of stitches in said narrow end, knitting a sufficient number of circular courses to form the ankle, throwing out of action a portion of the needles, knitting aseries otbackand-forth courses, narrowing at the end of each course, and then a similar number of like courses, widening at the end of each course, and connecting the widened course with a previously-narrowed course to form the heel, then bringing into action the needles previously thrown out ofaction, knitting a series of circular courses to form the foot, then knitting thetoe-bulge by throwing out of action onehalf of the needles, knittinga series of backand-forth courses and narrowing, and a like number of like courses and widening, and connecting to the narrowed courses, removing the stocking from theremaining needles,and seaming the disconnected portion of the toe-bulge to the foot and seaming up the slit in the calf of the leg.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side elevation of a completed stocking, showing the manner of practicing my invention. Fig. 2 is a similar elevation of the same stocking before the toe and calf slits are seamed up, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of that portion of thcleg which is 1885. Again renewed April 29, 1886. Serial No. 200,625. (No model.)

knit upon the first or larger machine by reciprocating the needlecylinder before the web is run-onto the smaller machine.

In carrying out my new process I use two circular-knitting machines of different diameters, the larger one having, say, two hundred needles and the smaller one, say, one hundred and twenty needles. I then take up one hundred and twenty stitches on the larger machine and knit a series of back-and-forth courses from a to b, throwing into action a new needle at each end of a course as often as may be necessary to give the required taper to the leg, continuing this until all of the needles are brought into action, and then knit a sufficient number of circular courses to complete the top of the leg, as from b to c. The work is then removed from the large machine, and the one hundred and twenty stitches at the end thereof, which is in the form of a flat web, are run upon the one hundred and twenty needles of the smaller machine,and a series of circular courses are knit from a to d to form r A portion of the needles are thenthe ankle. thrown out of action and the heel from cl to c is formed by knit-ting a series of back-andforth courses and narrowing, and the same number of like courses and widening, and at the same time connecting the widened courses to the corresponding narrowed ones. Then the needles previously thrown out of action are again thrown into action and a series of circular courses are knit from c to f to form the body of the foot, when one-half of the needles are again thrown out of action and the toebulgeg hi is formed by knitting a series of back-and-forth courses and narrowing. and the same number of like courses and widening, and at the same time connecting the widened courses to the previously-narrowed ones,when the stocking will be in the condition shown in Fig. 2, with the opening f 2' at the toe and a slit from a to bin the back of the leg. The opening ftand the slit a b are then seamed up, and the stocking is completed in the form shown in Fig. l.

The openingf t may be upon the under side of the foot, as shown, or upon the upper side, as may be desired, without affecting the prim ciples of my invention.

What I claim as new is-' p The art of knitting full-fashioned stockings,

which consists in taking up the required number of stitches to give the required diameter to the ankle of the stocking upon a circularknitting machine having as many needles as there are required stitches to give the desired diameter to the top of the leg, knitting a series of back-andforth courses and widening by throwing into action an additional needle at each end of a course as often as desired until all the needles are brought into action, knitting asufficientnulnber of circular courses to complete the desired length of leg, removing the work from the machine, taking up the stitches at the narrow end of the flat portion of like courses and wide; ng, at the same time connecting the widened courses to the narrowed ones, throwing into action the needles previously thrown out of action, knitting aseries of circular courses to form the body of the foot, throwing out of action one-half of the needles, forming the toc-bulge in the same manner as the heel-bulge, removing the work from the machine, and seaming the disconnected portion of the toe-bulge to the foot and the edges of the slit in the rear of the leg together, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification,in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses, on this 30th day of Sep tember, A. D. 188i.

\VILLIAM ESTY.

Witnesses:

N. 0. Lo)! 1mm), \VA LTER E. LOMllA no. 

